Off Season (12 page)

“You're both being kind,” Debbie said. “Kind and brave. You've
all
been so brave, so
magnificent
.”

“Magnificent,” Kia said, nodding her head. “That just about sums me up to a T.”

Despite myself, despite everything, I started to laugh and both Debbie and Kia joined in.
Ned turned around. He looked at us like we were all insane. Maybe we were.

“Do you know, I was really worried about Ned having to start school. I wondered how he'd get along, if he could handle it.”

“He's going to have some friends to help him,” I said.

“He's already
had
some friends help him … the two of you.”

“But he's going to have three friends at his new school, three kids on the Salmon Arm travel team, three kids who really, really want him to play on their team.”

“That's all great, and I guess there's no doubt that we're moving now.”

“There isn't?” I asked.

“Think about it, Nick,” Kia said.

Then it hit me. They didn't even have a house anymore. The fire must have swept over their home. And the truck in the other direction. All that was left were some buried photo albums, the animals, and the tools we'd taken from the shed.

“None of that matters,” Debbie said. “I've never cared much about stuff anyway. All that matters is that we're going to get out of here.”

“What's Ned doing?” Kia asked.

I was wondering the same thing. He'd been
walking along the edge of the firebreak, holding onto that strange can thing he'd brought from the shed.

“He's going to set the brush on fire,” Debbie said.

“He's going to what?” I asked, hearing the words but not believing what she'd said.

“He's going to set the brush on fire,” she repeated.

“But that's crazy!” Kia exclaimed. “We don't need any more fire, we need
less
fire!”

I tried to get to my feet but I stumbled, almost toppling over before I regained my footing.

“Ned, stop!” I screamed as I got up and stumbled toward him.

“It's okay!” I heard Debbie yell from behind me.

“What are you doing?” I demanded.

“I'm starting a backfire.”

“Why would you want to start a fire?” I questioned.

“I don't have any choice. We have to clear more space, make the firebreak wider, and this is the only way to do that,” he explained.

“So … to save us from the fire you're going to make a fire?” I asked. That made no sense.

“Exactly. I'm going to set a fire and it will burn away from us, using up all the fuel the big fire would use and clearing out a firebreak that will protect us. It's called a controlled fire.”

“And this will work?”

“This is what forest firefighters do. I've read all about it.”

“But, can you do it?”

Ned didn't answer.

“Ned … can you do it?”

“I can try … if you think I should.”

The whole idea seemed nuts. We were surrounded by a forest fire, hiding in the last little spot that wasn't aflame, and Ned wanted to deliberately set another fire right by us.

I took a deep breath. “This is the thing that's supposed to be done, right?”

Ned nodded his head.

I reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Then you do it.”

Ned smiled. “You better get back,” he said.

I gladly retreated away from him. Ned pulled out a book of matches and lit a little flame that glowed on the top of the can. He then hit a switch and a line of fire leapt out toward the loose bush and pine needles, setting them on fire! He walked along the
line, doing the same thing over and over and over, until the entire edge of the firebreak was on fire.

From where I stood I could feel the heat thrown off by the fire. I stepped farther back and shielded my eyes from the bright glare.

“And me without any marshmallows,” Kia said. She was standing just behind me.

Ned came over. “Now grab your shovels and rakes. We walk behind the fire and anything that isn't burned after the fire passes we have to dig up or bury. There has to be nothing left that can burn.”

I wasn't sure if I even had the strength to walk back and pick up my shovel. I was exhausted — more exhausted than I'd ever been in my life. And scared — more scared than I'd ever been in my life.

“Come on, Kia,” I said as I started off for the shovels. Scared was more powerful than exhausted.

It was the most unbelievable sight I had ever seen in my whole life. The entire forest was on fire … reds and oranges racing up the trees, leaping for the sky, finally replaced by a thick curtain of smoke that blackened the sky and practically blotted out the sun — it was only a dim light in the sky. Although the closest part of the fire was at least a hundred feet away, I could feel the heat against my cheeks.

That was as close as the fire could come. We were protected by an open, bare and burnt section — the firebreak. I don't know what would have happened if it wasn't for that open space … actually I did know and I didn't want to even think about it.

I slipped farther into the water. We were all lying in the water, only our shoulders and heads on the sandy bank of the creek. The four of us were sharing the same space with the four deer, no more than a dozen feet away, all
of us staring at the fire. All of us except Kia. She lay on her back, staring straight up at the little spot of blue sky that still survived above our heads.

Ned started coughing again — coughing badly — and Debbie had him take another sip of water. The smoke was bad, twirling and swirling all around us, but hadn't sealed us in completely … at least not yet.

“You okay?” I asked Ned.

He nodded.

“They won't be much longer,” I said.

“Who?”

“The firefighters. It's been more than six hours. They'll be here soon.” I paused. “Right?”

“I don't know,” he said. “I don't know how big the fire is, how far it extends out in all directions. They won't even know to look for us here.”

He was right. I just wished that he wasn't right. Or at least that he hadn't told me. Hope was about the only thing I had to hang on to.

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to look at the fire. I wanted to just pretend that I wasn't here, that none of us were here, that none of this was happening.

I thought about my house, about my mother and father. I wanted to be home, safe in my bed,
my parents downstairs to take care of me. All I had to do was call and they'd come running up the stairs to make everything right again. It gave me a warm feeling.

I opened my eyes and came back to reality. Even with them closed, I couldn't get away from the smoke or the sound. The sound was something I hadn't even thought about, but it was inescapable.

There was the constant roar of the flames, but there was also popping and buzzing, the sound of trees crashing as they toppled over or exploded into flames or … what was that sound? It was different. High pitched and constant. Almost like an engine … an engine!

I pushed myself up onto my elbows, then stood up.

“What is it?” Kia demanded as she rose to her knees. “What's wrong?”

“Ssshhhh!” I hissed at her.

I walked out of the water and a few feet away from the creek. I could feel the heat of the fire, and the smoke was thicker at head height than it had been along the ground. I turned my head to the side to try to listen, to pick up the sound again. Had I just been imagining it, or was it just another sound made by the fire itself? Maybe it had all been in my
head instead of my ears. I was imagining it because I wanted to hear something so badly and — no … there it was again, the sound of an engine! Was it a chainsaw or a truck or a — an airplane! It swooped low over the trees, punching out through the smoke, a blue and yellow blur, driven along by the two spinning propellers I'd heard.

“We're here!” I screamed as I ran across the clearing, waving my arms in the air as it vanished from view and the sound of the engines faded and then disappeared completely.

I spun around to where everybody was lying in the water. “Did you see it?” I yelled. “Did you see it?”

More importantly, did the plane see us?

Then the sound of the engines could be heard again, and it was getting louder and louder … they'd seen us, they were circling back!

“It saw us!” I screamed. “We're saved!”

Ned suddenly got to his feet and started running toward me. He was screaming something but I couldn't make out the words over the sound of the fire and the plane — the plane! I started jumping up and down and waving my arms.

“We're here!” I yelled. “We're he—” I was hit from behind and I staggered and then
tumbled to the ground. Ned had tackled me and had his arms wrapped around my legs!

“What are you doing?” I screamed out as I tried to get back on my feet.

“Lie flat, put your head down!” Ned yelled and then lunged forward, pushing my face into the ground!

I struggled to right myself when I was smashed into the ground, the air forced out of my lungs, my whole body feeling like it had been punched and pressed into the dirt! It felt like I'd been hit by an elephant. I pushed my-self up on one arm and strained, struggled to try and draw my breath … I gasped and air rushed into my collapsed lungs. I was soaking wet! I spat, trying to get rid of dirt that had been driven into my mouth and throat.

“What … what … what happened?” I sputtered.

Ned's glasses were missing, he was completely covered with dirt and his hair was plastered down to his head. He opened his mouth to talk and I could tell by the panicked look on his face that he couldn't get air either. A shudder went through his entire body.

“Bomb,” he hissed, the word just barely escaping.

“They dropped a bomb on us?” That was what
it felt like, but why would they bomb us?

“Bomber … water bomber … they dropped water on us,” he said.

I looked around. The ground was soaked and there were puddles. There was a sizzling sound and clouds of smoke — no steam — were rising from the trees closest to us … they weren't on fire anymore … they were steaming.

Then my attention was caught by movement. I looked over. There was a fish — no,
two
fish — flipping and flopping on the ground right beside me.

“Fish,” I said to Ned in amazement, “there are fish.”

“They were scooped up by the water bomber when it filled its tanks. Sometimes they get fish or ducks or driftwood.”

“Is that what hit me … hit us … a log?”

He shook his head. “Just water. Thousands and thousands of gallons of water. But if you'd been standing up it could have killed you.”

“Why did they drop it on us?”

“Probably couldn't see us. They're just attacking the fire.”

I suddenly heard the sound of another engine. The plane was coming back to drop more water!

“The plane's coming back. We've got to move before it hits us again!” I shouted.

I struggled to get to my feet, but Ned just held on to me. Between his size and my exhaustion I couldn't budge.

“We're okay,” Ned said. “It isn't the plane.”

I looked up into the sky and saw — a helicopter! Its two gigantic rotors spun around and around as it came in and then hovered above the center of the clearing. I brought up my hands to shield my eyes from the dirt and ashes swirling around and hitting me in the face, but nothing could protect me from the sound. It was an incredible racket.

“Look!” Ned yelled over the roar.

The big side door of the helicopter slid open and I could see people standing there, and then ropes — one, two, half a dozen — dropped out. And then a man started down one of the lines, rappelling toward the ground. He was followed by a second man, and a third, until every one of the lines was filled by somebody.

“Rap Attack firefighting team,” Ned said.

I didn't know what to say or think. I sat there and watched as the men glided down the ropes, touching down on the ground. No sooner had they landed than they grabbed shovels and axes from their big backpacks and began attacking the edge of the fire.

“Now it's over,” Ned said. “We're safe.”

“We're going to miss you both so much!” Debbie gushed as she gave first Kia, and then me, a big hug. She had her crutches tucked under her arms. The lower half of her leg was in a cast.

“We're going to miss you too,” I said.

“We're going to miss
everybody
,” Kia added.

Ned and Dan both smiled.

“And you have everything?” Debbie asked.

“Everything that was left,” Kia said.

“Oh … of course … what am I thinking?” Debbie replied.

Most of our clothes and things had been destroyed when the house was burned down, and the few things we'd packed into the truck were lost when the truck had been burned to a crisp as well.

“That's okay. We didn't lose anything that can't be replaced,” I said.

“That's what I keep saying as well,” Dan agreed. “Starting with that beat-up old truck.”

They'd driven us to the airport in their brand- new, shiny, four-wheel-drive SUV — complete with air conditioning! Apparently they couldn't get a truck that didn't have air conditioning.

“I miss the old truck,” Ned said.

“It's still there in the ditch — at least what's left of it — so maybe I can take you to visit it sometime,” Dan joked.

We'd spent the last few days living with them in their new house … a rental on the outskirts of Salmon Arm. Dan complained about how he didn't know if he could get used to “city living.” Considering that their nearest neighbor was half a kilometer down the road, I didn't think that was much of a problem.